This Canadian Hockey Star Doubles as a Law Enforcer

She has had to sandwich her training between policing shifts, four days off and then four days on. Her shifts vary, typically running 11 or 12 hours and often keeping her up all night. That routine rivals the jet lag she might face when traveling with the national hockey team. Currently, because of her pregnancy, she is working a desk job four days a week with the Vancouver Police Department’s major crime section.

“Eating, sleeping and training at different times is part of the challenge for me,” Agosta said. “The quote I would use is ‘improvise, adapt and overcome.’ Just have that belief and the positive mind-set that this is tough, but I still have a lot more to give.”

In her limited recovery time, Agosta’s pleasures are simple. She drinks coffee, watches “The Bachelor” and walks her dog, Rocky, with her family in their South Surrey neighborhood.

Somehow, it works. Finland’s Noora Raty, named the best goalie at the 2018 Olympics, attests to Agosta’s prowess.

“Meghan is one of the most dangerous players I’ve ever played against because of her high hockey I.Q.,” Raty said in an email. “She is a constant scoring threat because of her speed, poise with the puck and quick snap shot, which is hard to read as a goalie. She is just a complete, all-around player who can play in all three zones.”

Agosta is also a dressing room leader. Recalling her experiences before the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, she preaches a gratitude-based, go-for-it attitude to her teammates.

“I was 18 and our oldest player, Danielle Goyette, was 40,” Agosta said. “I was in awe: ‘Holy crow! I’m in the dressing room with all my childhood heroes.’ Coach Mel Davidson pulled me aside two months in and said: ‘Listen, you’re here for a reason. You need to start performing. If not, we’re going to have to release you.’ I thought, ‘I have nothing to lose.’ That’s when I changed how I was playing.”

Hockey in the Desert – The New York Times
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